Six-vehicle pileup jams H-1
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
A chain-reaction collision yesterday in Pearl City that forced police to shut down the H-1 Freeway for four hours and snarled traffic for miles was caused by a stalled car, a fire official said.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Police and fire crews were called shortly before 8 a.m. to the westbound lanes of the H-1, about a quarter-mile before the H-2 off-ramp, where six vehicles had collided. Police closed the five-lane freeway shortly after 8 a.m. and rerouted motorists to the Pearl City off-ramp. Police reopened the freeway at 12:05 p.m.
A fuel tank on a container truck ruptured yesterday morning on the H-1 Freeway, spilling 40 to 50 gallons of diesel fuel across the freeway and leading to a massive backup in traffic.
"A stalled vehicle in the center lane started a domino effect with six vehicles hitting each other," said Fire Department Capt. Richard Soo.
Four people were hospitalized and two others were treated at the scene and released, Soo said.
Problems arose when a fuel tank on a container truck ruptured in a collision with a cement truck, spilling 40 to 50 gallons of diesel fuel across the five-lane highway, Soo said. The fuel, which also trickled down a drainage canal, was mopped up by cleanup crews.
Later, tow trucks had difficulty separating the container truck from the cement truck, but eventually got them apart, said police Lt. Guy Demello.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Police couldn't reopen the freeway until the slippery diesel fuel had been removed from the road and the vehicles had been towed away, Demello said.
Workers look over the damage to one of the trucks involved in yesterday morning's crash on the H-1 Freeway.
"From what I saw, everyone worked as quickly and safely as possible," Soo said.
A 31-year-old woman and two men, 52 and 46, were taken to The Queen's Medical Center. The two men were listed in guarded condition; the woman's status was unavailable.
Soo said a third man was taken to St. Francis Medical Center-West, but a staffer there could not confirm the information.
Reach Brandon Masuoka at 535-8110 or at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com.
